Media firm’s uncapped Nelson Mandela Bay tender – HeraldLIVE

Mettler defends multimillion-rand deal which included politically related work

A multimillion-rand communications tender involving a Johannesburg-based company has come under the spotlight after it emerged that the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality had given the firm carte blanche to spend as it pleased.

The city has lifted the cap on what was initially a R10-million tender given to Mohlaleng Media over a three-year period, with the company now having an unlimited cap.

This is for media and communications services.

Only halfway through the contract, the metro has already dished out more than R20-million to Mohlaleng to supplement the work of the city’s communications department.

Their contract ends in December next year.

Included in the payments to Mohlaleng is an amount of R771 552 paid to two media specialists – Grant Pascoe and Vukile Pokwana – over five months to “beef up” the communications unit.

Pokwana is a former journalist, while Pascoe is a former DA heavyweight in the City of Cape Town who defected to the ANC in recent years.